The terrorist attacks of recent months and political upheavals have had a major effect on travel behavior, and the perceived level of threat is determining people’s holiday choices, according to a survey.
IPK International has conducted a special survey in over 40 major tourism source markets and interviewed 50,000 people to analyze the impact of terror threats, Traveldailynews.com reported.
One of the findings of the global survey was that the threat of terrorism influences the travel behavior of 40% of international tourists, while the results varied significantly depending on the source market.
Whereas few South Americans, Scandinavians and Dutch said the threat of terrorism will affect their travel behavior, Asians and Eastern Europeans are more strongly influenced by current events.
Popular destinations, in particular Turkey and Egypt, have reported a dramatic drop in bookings and many hotels are deserted. Despite this, more people are travelling this year compared to 2015.
Thus, IPK International forecasts a 2% increase in trips abroad by Europeans, and as much as 3% worldwide. However, people have become more critical about their choice of destination.
The survey also examined in what ways the threat of terrorism is changing travel behavior. Fifteen percent of international tourists said they will avoid travelling abroad altogether in 2016 and rather spend their holidays in their own country.
A quarter of international tourists said they plan to continue travelling abroad, but only to places they perceive as safe. Asked which destinations these were, IPK International gained some interesting insights.
Destinations vary widely in their perceived safety levels. For the interviewees, the destinations rated the least safe were those where there have already been attacks or unrest in the past.
In a worldwide comparison, Israel, Turkey and Egypt received the lowest ratings. A destination’s bad image even affects neighboring regions, regardless of whether there had been any incidents there or not.
What became clear was that 2016 will show some substantial shifts in demand. Some countries can expect massive losses, far and foremost Turkey, but also Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Israel.
Other areas, such as Canada and Australia, as well Scandinavia and Switzerland, have good growth prospects despite the global threat of terrorism.
